Tuesday, June 16, 2009

I'm seeing pickled ramps everywhere this year but didn't have a chance to try my hand at them before the short ramp season was over. What I do have is lots of spring onions plus there are piles of them at the farmers market for $1.00 a bunch so I decided to try pickling them.I used Tom Colicchio's spice & brine recipe for pickled ramps just substituting with the onions. The recipe said you could store the pickles in the fridge to use right away or use proper canning techniques & store them for months. I decided to try canning them since we wouldn't need 4 jars of these right away. I referenced some of my preserving books for the proper timing to process pickled onions. I didn't have the red & white peppercorns the recipe called for so I substituted pink & black, I think you can use whatever you have.

While you are preparing the brine & onions sterilize four 1/2-pint jars & lids in boiling water.

Clean & trim the spring onions. Cut down the green until the onions are about 3/4 to 1 inch shorter than the jars. (You'll end up with mostly the whites & just a little of the greens.) Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt & add the onions. Boil for 1 minute & them quickly move the onions to an ice water bath. Drain.

Divide the onions between the four sterilized jars. Add 1/4 teaspoon each of the mustard seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, pink & black peppercorns to each jar. Add a piece of bay leaf to each jar.

Put the vinegar, sugar, water and salt into a saucepan & bring to a boil. Pour the hot liquid into each jar leaving about 1/2-inch headroom. Top with the sterilized jar lids. Put neckbands on & hand tighten. Place the jars into a pot of boiling water about 1-inch above the top of the jars. Cover & boil for 10 minutes. Carefully remove to a heatproof surface, do not top the seals or dry. Let sit for 12 to 24 hours to cool. Store in a cool, dark area.

Skip the whole canning step & just place onions, spices & brine in clean jars & keep in the fridge to use within a few weeks.